travelguy_73

Some updated pictures:

AFAIK, they will have two locations. The Westheimer location just got off the ground faster (probably because they could build it out themselves versus waiting for the building management to do so).

As a nod to our friend Editor, next time you guys are in Chicago, you MUST (must!) have a meal at Chicago Diner on N. Halsted. I go every few months and it never ceases to amaze me that I'm not eating meat. Their Philly cheese 'steak' is out of this world and the service is great. http://veggiediner.com/menus.html

And while we are on the subject of Whole Foods (which. BTW, I enjoy shopping at, but also recognize that it can't truly be as pure as it markets itself). Is Whole Foods Wholesome? The dark secrets of the organic-food movement. By Field Maloney Posted Friday, March 17, 2006, at 1:34 PM ET It's hard to find fault with Whole Foods, the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming grocery shopping into a bright and shiny, progressive experience. Indeed, the road to wild profits and cultural cachet has been surprisingly smooth for the supermarket chain. It gets mostly sympathetic coverage in the local and national media and red-carpet treatment from the communities it enters. But does Whole Foods have an Achilles' heel? And more important, does the organic movement itself, whose coattails Whole Foods has ridden to such success, have dark secrets of its own? ... continued http://www.slate.com/id/2138176/fr/nl/

A few facts from the agent: -Beautiful courtyard with grand fountain -Elevator and 2 stairway access to beautiful sky deck garden overlooking Downtown Houston -Control Access entry gate to assigned private covered parking in the first two levels of the building with camera surveillance of gates and parking area. -Each unit features a private balcony (except 3 ) -New York Loft style, brick walls -Double pane windows for maximum energy efficiency & sound -Insulated and sealed for sound proofing with a specific technique between units and hallways. -10

I second Flickr--the ability to tag truly makes your photos part of a community.

As of today. You are right Danax that it does say Crane at the top (note the name in the picture), so I'm not sure where Herrin came from. Anyone here know? I didn't find anything on Google.

I'm downtown and shop either at Randall's or the Kroger on Gray (Randall's natural food section is abysmal). I don't think that NOT having a grocery store in the heart of downtown makes that much of a difference, at least not to me. I am so used to getting in my car for everything from a quick bite to eat, coffee, to drive the 1.5 miles to my office (natch), that driving to the grocery store comes naturally. Sure it would be nice to walk instead of drive, but lugging 6 bags of groceries home on foot leaves something to be desired. As others have mentioned, I think the biggest setback to life downtown is the lack of places to eat and hang out after the work day and on the weekends. That, and weekend metered parking for my friends!

Funny that you mention it, because it reminded me of the same thing. Balconies with giant Boston Ferns hanging off them and lots of window boxes. I like the rooftop terrace, especially if they do small trees up there (a la South Texas College of Law's rooftop terrace, which is beautiful from the street level). Hopefully they will have a management company to maintain all of this! They spent the past few weeks powerwashing the grafitti off--looks to have been successful.

Noticed this evening that the developer has put up some more details on HAR. Here's a link with some updated pictures. Not loving the continuous balconies (hides too much of that beautiful brick) but at least now I know why they were appearing to gut the interior of the building (see the fountain in one of the pics). Depending on the interior amenities, the price/sq ft for this particular unit doesn't appear to be out of line with comparable lofts in the area. http://www.har.com/search/engine/indexdeta...=0&backButton=Y BTW, HAR added a 'loft' option when searching for properties--and wow, I have never seen so many inaccurately listed properties! Note to realtors: Urban Loft townhomes aren't actually lofts ETA--Interior courtyard artist conception: http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDis...hr1581611-1.jpg

Every CO aircraft type flies through Houston, and the 787 shouldn't be any different. Now if we were speaking about the Airbus A380, or even a 747, then that would be different!

I don't think C baggage claim is part of the current renovation due to (among other things) the low ceiling.

Keep in mind that E was not meant to be domestic, but when the bottom fell out of the industry at 9/11, the project was already way too far along to make for an easy transition to a domestic and international terminal. The baggage at E is inside customs and therefore has to remain a sterile area. That 'uphill' skywalk you can take was added at the last minute (at great expense) to cut some time and distance off the walk to C. As for additional European and Asian markets, if smaller aircraft (757 size) could make it from IAH to Frankfurt, Rome, etc., then those markets would be served. There just isn't a market for 767 or 777 service to Europe and Asia from IAH like there is from Newark. Maybe the new 787's can make the case for additional IAH routes.

Continental and their architects designed and built the gates at Terminal E, with the City building the ticket counter, baggage area, customs, etc. The terminal was intended to be international-only, but 9/11 put the brakes on that. The ticket counter was a year late, but the entire project came together very nicely. AFAIK, the concessions are managed by Continental and the selection seems to be much better than the other terminals. If you search on this site, you will find critiques of the terminal artwork. Terminal C is now being renovated to match Terminal E--at least as much as the facilities outer walls will allow. Terminal B is the step-child, reserved for Continental Express and NWA. Check out the incredible mosaic tile work when you are there. I don't know much about Terminal A as I've never flown out of that terminal. I think it was renovated before the others and used to be the nicest of the terminals. The only part of the airport I can't stand is the short-term parking garage. It appears to be many garages haphazardly attached and every single time I park in it (few times a year) I lose my car.

I agree that the City is damned if they do, damned if the don't, and we are simply armchair quarterbacks who might not have all the details. But my question is, who exactly is this underground parking for? The people who are (aren't?) going to drive downtown from outside downtown to go to Pavilions, GRB, Toyota, and the park itself? Perhaps in 20 years, it will be considered terrific foresight... Empty every weekend: GRB/Totota: have a garage Pavilions: required to provide ample parking for their shops, right? Park shops: have a garage Plus all the parking on the other side of 59 that only gets used for Astros games. During the week, I assume this will be a place for downtown workers and residents to relax, people who most likely already have their cars safely tucked away in existing spaces. When I go running at Memorial Park, I curse the parking all the time. But I deal with it, and the situation seems to have (mostly) stood the test of time. If Memorial Park were being developed today, it would probably have a 6-story garage and complimentary golf cart shuttle.

My thoughts exactly. How many surface spaces are going to be eliminated to create the park? There doesn't seem to be a lack of parking in that area even with those spaces gone. While I think the park needs a plan, let's not overengineer it. I would rather have a basic park space with benches, paths, trees, and water fountains, and spend the rest of the money on whatever infrastructure improvements are necessary to attract residential development adjacent to the space.

I see this building everyday as well, and they have been working on it for at least 8 months. I have been patiently waiting for a sign (besides 'Lofts for Sale' and 'Silvestri Investments') or something on HAR. Are they not trying to pre-sell these? It looks like they are adding balconies of some sort facing downtown. I can't say for sure, but can't otherwise explain why they cut out so much of the brick (for doorways) on that side. The location leaves a lot to be desired. It is a beautiful building for sure, but there is nothing much around it, nor does it appear there will be for some time to come. Sort of like the Stanford. So you get the cool loft unit, but then have to get in your car to drive everywhere.

The prices weren't too bad for a boutique store, either! There is a set of retro aluminum tables there I have my eye on. Coincidentally, I was at Great Indoors not 2 hours later and spotted the same tables--except they were 18% more than at High Fashion.

There was a write-up in a recent Chron that stated the lofts were being resized to get the prices down. Now they were under 1000 sq ft. For a while no progress was being made ("back to the drwaing board?") but it appears that the property is active again.

Here is an earlier topic on this site... http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=2712

E was originally for international flights only, so the sterile customs/immigration/baggage area was designed with that in mind. Since it was well into construction when 9/11 hit, last-minute changes had to be made to allow domestic service as well (to accomodate a drastic change in demand). Unfortunately, the original design couldn't be altered in a material way to allow non-sterile passengers into the baggage area since it is comingled with immigration and customs, hence the long trek back to C to get your bags. If you are arriving from an international destination, you will see how it was originally intended to operate!

Terminal D (non-Continental intl flights) is definitely the worst of the 5 terminals at IAH. If the visitors come in on Continental, they are treated to a much nicer experience, though the walk to immigration and customs is a bit longer than it should be.

I guess the Downtown forum is the best place to put this link... http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/realesta...serland&emc=rss "If I could take a cement mixer and pour cement in and clog up the tunnels, I would do it today," said Laura Miller, the mayor of Dallas, referring to the city's tunnels. "It was the worst urban planning decision that Dallas has ever made. They thought it was hip and groovy to create an underground community, but it was a death knell." read the rest at link above...

I agree with Star, though I like the Shepard location. Spanky's is very good--on 610 South Loop at Woodridge (?).

Was the space always El Paso's, or did they inherit it from Sonat Exploration when they took them over?